Introduction

Hello and welcome to my PME 800 Final Project!

For my final project, I have chosen to set the goal of teaching myself to play Bob Marley's Redemption Song on acoustic guitar in its entirety. For those who have never heard this fantastic song before (or if you’re a Bob Marley fan like me and just want to hear it again), you can hear it played by the pro here.

This song has always been near and dear to my heart - it takes me back to a simpler time - singing it around a campfire after a long day of tree-planting while one of my hardworking colleagues strums away on a dark night in Northern Alberta. 

I've always wanted to be able to play guitar, and admired those who were able. I encourage my children to be creative and pursue music. Teaching myself to play this song will be a great way to experience the learnings of PME 800 - Self-Regulated Inquiry. I have a distal goal (a stretch goal) and several proximal goals.  I plan to use a variety of online resources that I will amass as the journey progresses. I will regularly check my progress against my goal and make any required adjustments.

My current state

I have zero current guitar knowledge and I cannot read music.

The process - some proximal goals:

Teaching myself to hold a guitar properly.
Teaching myself to read "tabulature" for this song.
Teaching myself to play each of the required notes.
Teaching myself how to strum a chord.
Teaching myself to play each of the required chords.
Putting it all together is my distal goal!

Resources

I will be using online guitar lessons such as this one by Marty Schwartz

I am fortunate that my hubby has offered for me to use his guitar. He is a fairly accomplished self-taught guitar player. I am certain that this process will provide him with some entertainment over the next month.

Documenting the process

I will be documenting my journey via this blog - with videos and written updates.  I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to comment.  I apologize in advance for any singing that may incidentally occur during this process :)